The analysis explores how far-right Telegram channels instrumentalise opposition to the Rio Tinto project and lithium mining in Serbia to amplify their pre-existing nationalist and anti-Western narratives.

For the population of Serbia, this issue is exacerbated by the existing problems of galloping privatisation and destruction of public goods, especially natural resources. In the last decade, two sides of the environment have emerged and intensified in the local public.

Civil society organisations express deep concern over the direction of the investigative actions concerning the incident of 15 March 2025, which have recently been undertaken by the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade. The current conduct of this Prosecutor’s Office is the exact opposite of the thorough and impartial investigation that such a grave case requires. Instead, it indicates a deliberate intention to cover up the actual incident and divert public attention towards the political persecution of victims and all those who have provided them with legal or other forms of support.

The following transcript is from the opening speech by Pieter Omtzigt, former member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and former rapporteur on Pegasus and other spyware and secret state surveillance. The speech was delivered at the Sandbox Conference organised by the Civil Society Digital Security Network (CSDSN) in Tirana on 27 May 2026.

The Civil Committee for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Whistleblowers strongly condemns the threats directed at journalist Vuk Cvijić, which occurred on December 17 and were allegedly triggered by an article he wrote for the weekly Radar.

At the panel discussion “Freedoms Under Pressure: Civil Society and Digital Oversight in Serbia and Abroad”, organised by the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP) on 31 October in Belgrade, speakers warned that digital surveillance and spyware use are rapidly becoming tools of political control in Serbia and across Europe, posing severe risks to human rights and democracy.

The Civil Committee for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Whistleblowers calls on the competent Public Prosecutor’s Office to immediately act upon information about an alleged plot to assassinate student Pavle Cicvarić, as publicly stated on Informer television by Siniša Vučinić, a member of the Main Board of the Serbian Progressive Party.

The Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP) strongly urges the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Serbia to immediately cease the excessive and unlawful use of force against peaceful demonstrators. Security forces must treat all citizens equally, act in accordance with the law and strictly follow service regulations during any intervention.

The Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP) expresses deep concern over serious irregularities, abuses, and selective actions by members of the Ministry of Interior during the local elections held on June 8, 2025, in Zaječar and Kosjerić. We call for an immediate, independent investigation into all reported incidents. These events are part of a broader security context in which the police are increasingly failing to fulfill their primary role—protecting citizens and upholding the rule of law.